As we head into the holiday season, we want to take a moment to share our gratitude to all members of the AFT MA community—we are so proud to represent our members across the Commonwealth! We hope your Thanksgiving week is full of rejuvenation, reflection, appreciation, and joy! We also know the holiday season can be difficult for many, and hold each of you in our hearts and minds as you navigate the holidays.

At AFT MA we have much to be grateful for. Throughout 2025, many of our locals have successfully achieved three year agreements, with wage increases and improved language for parental leave, longevity, preparation time, and better working conditions. We are happy to share that the Berklee Faculty Union, Lawrence Teachers Union, and North Attleboro Federation of Teachers all now have new contracts on the books! We're grateful to the members of each bargaining team and all members who were a part of the bargaining process. And we know there's always more to do and more to be won—including in several locals that continue to negotiate successor agreements from 2024 and 2025. That's why several of our workshops at this year's Fall Conference focused on building union density and engaging members. Our fights don't stop when we ratify a contract: we keep organizing and growing our power so we can win bigger next time!

We were able to highlight some of the recent successes at our Fall Conference this past weekend at Norfolk Aggie. This conference—our biggest yet in recent years—was a wonderful opportunity to bring locals from across the state together. Thank you to all who were able to attend and special thanks to President Aaron Chernisky and the Norfolk Aggie Federation of Teachers for hosting us! Meeting the farm animals and learning about the agriculture vocational school was certainly a highlight for all.  

Throughout the day, we built connections between members and locals while focusing our work on ways we can continue to strengthen membership engagement and increase their power and strength in both our locals and communities. Workshops covered everything from how to be an effective building rep to how to protect our immigrant students and families, addressing burnout to next steps after a contract win, and more. Our next statewide event will be the virtual Winter Town Hall on Wednesday, January 28 at 7:00pm. Please save the date and register here! 

We’re closing out 2025 by continuing our work on Beacon Hill to support AFT MA endorsed legislation including: the DRIVE Act for higher ed, reforming the special education circuit breaker, expanding community schools, and establishing a minimum wage for all public school PSRPs and teachers. And thanks to our Protect Our Care North Shore Town Hall last month, we won Senator Joan Lovely’s support for the corporate fair share bill—successful organizing at work! We continue to organize and lobby to get R+ over the finish line as well as advancing a living wage bill, particularly for our paraprofessionals. You can read more about the efforts from the AFT MA Paraprofessionals Committee below and send a letter to your legislator in support!  

We’ve also been out front talking about the work being done in the Massachusetts Legislature regarding literacy curriculum in our schools. While we strongly support literacy, particularly with a focus on the early years– we also know that there are many ways to achieve that goal and that solutions shouldn’t be top down or overly rigid. Thanks to our allies in the House, we were proud to secure some important amendments to their literacy bill, and look forward to working with allies in the Senate to make sure that our concerns are addressed in their version of the legislation as well. Our statement on the House bill can be found here. 

AFT MA and the BTU continue to represent the voices of educators in our schools when it comes to the Governor’s Grad Council as well. We convened local presidents and our board to meet with the Secretary of Education and a representative from DESE to learn more about the most recent phase of the work and ensure the experiences and expertise of our educators informs the work. While there is much we agree with within the framework that is being discussed so far, we continue to stay vigilant about potential concerns and will continue to make sure that those most impacted are centered as the next phase of this process proceeds. We will share more updates as details become available and at the AFT MA Winter Town Hall in January. If you are interested in joining an AFT MA focus group on this issue, please sign up here.

While we are working hard at the local and state level, we have not taken our eye off of the work being done at the federal level to dismantle the Department of Education. Please be sure to read and share our statement in response to the Administration’s latest efforts. We continue to work with the AFT and national partners to monitor federal developments, plan for future scenarios and respond when necessary.  

Lastly, for AFT MA members with high school seniors looking at attending higher education next fall, please talk to them over the Thanksgiving break about applying for this year’s AFT MA Scholarships! These scholarships are awarded at our annual convention, which will take place in early April. Interested applicants must apply online and register for the labor exam by Friday, December 19, 2025. All information and the 2025-2026 Application can be found here.   

Take Action:

• Contact your legislator in support of an educator minimum wage!

• Tell Congress to make healthcare more affordable!

• Sign up to join AFT MA’s Activist List today!

Upcoming Events: 

• December 6-7: Grassroots Campaign Training (RSVP by 11/28)

• December 9: Retirement Planning Workshop for AFT Members

• December 9: AFT Student Debt Clinic

• December 10: Resist and Reimagine: Lessons from the Labor Movement on Fighting Authoritarianism

• December 19: AFT Massachusetts High School Student Scholarship Registration Deadline! Learn more 

• January 10: Retirement Planning Workshop for AFT Members

• January 28: AFT MA Winter Town Hall!

• January 29: Retirement Planning Workshop for AFT Members

Take action: provide a living wage to all educators and PSRPs! Last week we celebrated National PSRP/ESP Day by fighting for an Act relative to educator pay—essential legislation that would establish salary minimums of $70k for teachers and $55k for paraprofessionals and adjust for inflation. You know as well as we do: it’s impossible to overstate how life changing this legislation would be for thousands of our members. Please take a moment to use our tool to email your legislator asking them to help advance An Act relative to educator pay! Together we can make sure that none of our dedicated PSRPs aren’t forced to work second or third jobs just to make ends meet. 

Tell Congress to make healthcare more affordable! AFT members have fought hard to stop a healthcare crisis, which is why Congress’ failure to extend Affordable Care Act tax credits is unacceptable. If these credits expire, millions will face higher costs or lose coverage entirely. Make your voice heard by urging the House to bring a bill to the floor! Use AFT’s letter writing tool to contact your Member of Congress today!

• Teachers are battling AI cheating in school. Is help on the way? - Boston Globe [paywall]

• ‘Chaos and fear’: Mass. officials raise alarms over Trump’s move to dismantle US Dept. of Education - MassLive

• Mr. Rogers advised: ‘Look for the helpers’ - Boston Globe [paywall]
• School Groups Sue to Stop Dismantling of the Education Department - New York Times [paywall]

Saturday & Sunday, December 6-7: MassAlliance Grassroots Campaign Training

Interested in potentially running for office someday, or just want to learn more about electoral campaigns and organizing? Register for MassAlliance’s Grassroots Campaign Training to learn the tools and strategy necessary to run and win a community-rooted campaign. Whether you're preparing for 2026 elections, building skills for a future run, or strengthening your community’s political power, this training offers a clear, accessible roadmap for grassroots success. *Application deadline is Nov. 28: tinyurl.com/gct25ma*

Tuesday, December 9: Retirement Planning Workshop for Public Sector AFT Members

All public sector members are invited to join the AFT Massachusetts for a virtual retirement planning workshop! AFT MA has partnered with Teacher Retirement Solutions (TRS), which specializes in providing independent financial guidance, strategies, and solutions to educators, school employees, librarians, and their families throughout New England, to provide prospective retirees with this comprehensive workshop. We’ll cover a variety of topics, including the Massachusetts' public employee retirement formula, Social Security, and living in retirement. Register today!

Tuesday, December 9: AFT Student Debt Clinic

As a union, AFT is fighting to make college affordable and student debt manageable; however, 44 million people in the United States are still saddled with student loan debt. Register today for one of AFT’s upcoming Student Debt Clinics! 

• Do you or a family member have student loan debt?

• Are you struggling to make monthly payments or worrying about student loans following you throughout your life?

• Are you tired of getting phone calls from loan servicers, or concerned about how to tell scams from genuine help when it comes to debt forgiveness?

Can’t join December 9? Mark your calendars and sign up for more clinics on January 8 & 26.

Wednesday, December 10: Resist and Reimagine: Lessons from the Labor Movement on Fighting Authoritarianism

This year, we’ve seen the weakening of federal agencies and programs that protect workers’ rights, mass firings of federal employees, and the launch of unprecedented attacks on our civil liberties. But unions and labor leaders have been at the forefront of defending the right to unionize, protecting immigrant workers, and advocating for the students, patients, and communities we serve. Join AFT and We Build Progress for a briefing highlighting the bold and innovative campaigns unions across the country are leading to build power and grow solidarity when our movement needs them most. Sign up here to join!

Friday, December 19: AFT Massachusetts High School Student Scholarship Deadline!

Each year, AFT Massachusetts awards thousands of dollars in scholarships to eligible high school seniors who are dependents of AFT Massachusetts members. Scholarship awards are based on an applicant’s results on a labor history exam administered by the Massachusetts AFL-CIO. To be considered for a scholarship, applicants must be an AFT Massachusetts member or the dependent of an AFT Massachusetts member in their senior year of high school with plans to attend college or other post-secondary school in the fall of the following academic year. Interested applicants must apply online and register for the labor exam by Friday, December 19, 2025. All information and the 2025-2026 application can be found here.  

Wednesday, January 28: AFT MA Winter Town Hall!

Mark your calendar for our quarterly town hall! These town halls are a chance for us to gather virtually as a union to celebrate local wins, launch new resources to support you and your local, ask questions, and get all the news you need to know from the local to the national level. We hope you’ll tune in with fellow AFT MA members from across the state so we can show up, train up, and stay informed! Register today!

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